Widow (Reapers MC Book 4) Page 6

  “Here you go,” The sweet bartender places a napkin under my drink and sets it in front of me. As I look at her, I see how pretty she is. She’s got this pale white skin tone with honey blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes. Tattoo’s layer over her body from the top of her neck down both of her arms to her hands. It has me thinking.

  As a matter of fact, I heard Gia telling me that she’s looking for a blonde to add to OneEye, and this girl could fit. I dig into my purse and pull out one of Gia’s cards. She’s always told me if I spot anyone who could be added to the roster to give her card out. “I’m Rebel, and I work for a company that’s always looking for tatted beauty’s like you and I. If you’re interested in making some good cash flow, call Gia. Her number’s on the card.” I say, sliding her a twenty. “Keep the change.”

  “Will do. Thanks.” She gives me a weird look, like she thinks I’m some solicitor, but her expression goes to a smile as she looks behind me. “Hey Spider, what’s up man?”

  “Not much, Lara.” At the sound of his voice I think I’ve gone crazy. There’s no way I can be hearing his voice right now. It’s impossible. He isn’t here. He’s back in Utah doing God knows what. I take my whiskey back quickly, knowing I’ll need the liquid courage if he’s really here with me and as I turn … I face the man I left behind all those years ago.

  “Widow …” His name slips out in a breathless whisper. I’m having trouble processing what is standing before me. He looks the same, but aged gracefully like that expensive wine that people say is delicious. It’s not, it’s fucking disgusting.

  “Melody, or should I call you Rebel?”

  I start to speak, but stop myself. I can’t be doing this right now. I have an appointment. “I’m waiting on someone,” is what manages to come out of my mouth.

  “I know, I’m the one who set up this little meeting. I figured we’d need some privacy since we have oh so much to catch up on.” My eyes go wide at his confession and I feel as if my entire world is spinning. If he found me, does that mean he knows about Zoe too? Fuck, I’m not ready for this. I’ve never been ready for this! I planned everything so perfectly, hoping I’d never have to see him another day in my fucking life. I don’t want to be anywhere near this man who’s done nothing but hurt me in every way possible. Widow had the most treasured thing to me – my heart, and he obliterated it.

  I stopped trusting people, and more importantly, I stopped caring about people after him. I was too afraid I’d get hurt if I opened myself up to anyone ever again.

  “Should I ask again? Is it Melody or Rebel? I don’t want to confuse you.” He crosses his arms and leans against the bar, smirking at me.

  Fucking douchebag. He wanted to catch me off guard like this so I wouldn’t be prepared. Motherfucker! “It’s Rebel. Melody is dead.” I hiss, my motherly instincts starting to come out. I shut my eyes and breathe in for a moment before opening them. “What do you want, Widow? I’m not going to play your stupid fucking games.” I may sound like I have my shit together, but I so don’t. I have everything but my shit together right now. All I can think about is how Widow will break Zoe’s heart like he did mine.

  “I’ll cut to the chase. I want to see my daughter. You know, Zoe, the one you’ve hidden from me her entire life.”

  My expression grows stern, hearing him mention the name of my daughter. He hasn’t been around. He doesn’t get to claim she’s his. “You mean my daughter, you arrogant piece of shit. She is my daughter. Not yours.”

  “Are you trying to tell me you were slutting it up all those years ago? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” He tsk’s his voice at the end like a judgmental parent. I’m about two seconds from ripping the skin off his face with my acrylics before he speaks. “Don’t bother replying, I know you weren’t, just like I know that little girl is mine. For fuck’s sake, you put my name as her father on her birth certificate, Melody.”

  “It’s Rebel,” I snap, grabbing my drink, I throw the glass at him. He ducks and the glass hits the beam a couple of feet behind him.

  “Whoa! You’re gonna pay for that!” Lara hollers my way.

  I cock my head back at her. “No, my cheating baby daddy is gonna pay for that, just like he’s gonna pay for whatever the fuck else I decide to break up in this joint, bitch!”

  Widow approaches me and grabs my phone off the bar, when he sees there’s a touch ID, he grabs my thumb and unlocks it, then types something on my phone. “I’m gonna head out, sweetheart. Just know, I’m here and I’m watching you. Don’t try to run, because I will chase you down to the ends of the earth. You’ve kept my daughter from me for too long, and we’ll be making up for that.” He stops talking and I hear the sound of a text being sent to his phone. “I have your number now. We’re going to go about this like two cordial adults would. I’ll meet you for coffee in two days where we’ll discuss how the fuck you’re going to introduce me to our daughter.”

  He walks away from me, heading towards the door of the bar and turns back, giving me a sinister smile. “Oh, and Melody. If you try to run, I will fucking kill you.”

  I feel my heart racing a mile a minute as my whole world crumbles before my eyes. I can’t fathom what’s just happened here today. It’s all so much, too fucking much if you ask me. I don’t hesitate what I do now, I pick up my phone and dial the one person’s number who I think I may be able to count on. “I need you,” is what I say as soon as they answer the phone. “I’m on my way.” I don’t ask for permission, instead I just go … heading towards the one person who may be able to calm me down.

  I pray that he can.

  12

  Travel brings power and love back into your life.

  -Rumi

  Widow

  “So, what’s the plan?” I ask, walking into church. I’m a few minutes late, but Amara can bite me. I look to Damon, who sits at the head of the table, “Sorry I’m late. I was handling something important.”

  “Save your apologies and sit the fuck down so we can talk.” He scowls at me as I take my seat and he stands up, addressing us. “I’m sure you’ve all been wondering what Fist and I have been discussing these past few days regarding the Vibora’s. I’m pleased to say that I can finally share. Amara, if you will.” Shit, I’ve been so caught in my own head that I didn’t even know those two were having private conversations. Of course, Damon always had a way of keeping secrets to himself. The guy is constantly in stealth mode, but if I was growing up as a Raines’ I probably would’ve been too.

  Damon takes his seat while his sister rises and I see that she still isn’t happy in her new role. I can’t say I blame her, she was demoted to VP after her father chose to patch us over into the Reapers. Bastard didn’t even call for a vote, which is ten types of fucked up. From my view, the old bat wanted to be rid of the club. I’m just left wondering why, since he always talked about the club like it was his life’s work. Is it because Rage is finally dead? I’ve been around long enough to know those two had some beef back in the day. Even caught him talking about it a time or two.

  “We’ve identified two compounds that we know are run by this low life gang. The goal is to divide and conquer tonight. We’ll split up into two different teams, each going to a separate location. Damon spoke to Bull earlier today and he gave us a quick bomb making tutorial on how to fuck up some snakes. We’re not overzealous in our goal for the night. This will not stop the Vibora’s from doing what they have been. It will only slightly derail them for a time. It’s no secret that our uncle has had some business with these … vermin. It’s also no surprise that our uncle doesn’t give a shit about the mayhem and misery that Ricardo causes in his wake. It’s our problem to fix, and so we will.”

  “What’s the plan? We gonna make some fireworks happen on these bitches?” Cobra speaks up, chuckling at the end. I’ve been around this motherfucker for a while now and yet he still seems to shock me with his lack of maturity.

  Amara doesn’t answer his question, instead she conti
nues. “We’ll split into two different teams. Cobra, Widow and Chaz are with me. The rest of you go with Damon.” I find it interesting that Amara is splitting us up based on our old clubs. I would’ve thought she’d want me to be as far away from her as possible, but I guess not.

  Damon interjects, “From that point we’ll have a man set the bombs up. We’ve gotten Intel from some of Onyx’s girls that there’s going to be parties going on tonight. I know you all may have been leery of her coming here, but she’s kept up her end of the bargain. Onyx’s girls are going to skedaddle the hell out of there before we light them up.”

  “I’m naturally assuming that the girls who were with the Vibora’s are going to end up coming and staying with us.” Dixon speaks up, while Damon gives him a curt nod.

  “Yes, they will. We’ll have a couple of club girls and the rest will be working for us. We’ll get a cut of the profits and they’ll have a sense of security.”

  “Will we be able to pick and choose who’s a clubwhore?” Cobra asks, with a smirk dragging across his face.

  “Is that really important right now? Focus!” Amara chastises him.

  “I’m just saying, Onyx better not become a clubwhore because that bitch … she’s begging for my worm.”

  “Jesus, Cobra!” Amara sticks her finger in her mouth, acting like she’s trying to gag herself. “You never stop with this shit.”

  “And let all of this unique charm go to waste? Why, never!”

  “You’re not charming. You’re revolting.” Amara looks over to her brother, “Where were we again?”

  “I think we were about to tell everyone that after the bombs go off, we need to make sure we’re prepared. Make sure you’re packing heavy, brothers. Shit’s going down tonight. There’s just one more thing. We’re having some help from another gang. You’re all dismissed, but I need Widow to stay behind.”

  Feeling like the kid who got called out by the principal, I sit and wait while our other brothers exit the room. Whatever’s happened must be pretty damn good for these guys to wanna talk to me alone. “Is this about me being late?”

  “It wasn’t, but while we’re on the topic you might as well tell us.” Damon hisses, not pleased with my tardiness.

  “I get it. I fucked up and I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be late, man. I just … I went to see Melody. Er, Rebel.” Damon’s scowl turns completely stoic as he listens. Whereas Amara looks like she’s seen a ghost. “You know I made that appointment under a fake name, well, that was today. I found out she didn’t just come here alone, Damon. She fuckin’ had my baby and drove her hundreds of miles away from me. I told her that I’ll be seeing her in a couple of days so we can discuss how this parenting thing is going to work. I refuse to not be in my little girl’s life. She deserves to know her father loves her, even if he hasn’t been around. I’ll tell ya tho, I wanna fuckin’ choke Melody for doing this shit.”

  “Next time you decide to handle personal business, make sure it won’t interfere with the club. I’m glad your figuring shit out, but it can’t happen again.”

  “We’re not here to talk about personal shit.” Amara speaks up. I can hear in her voice that she’s not comfortable. “We have a more pressing matter to discuss. One that we feel you need to be in the know about. Remember a couple weeks ago when Vinny showed up? He presented Damon and I with an envelope. You might not have been able to tell, but there were photographs in it. Incriminating ones of Rose.” Rose, she’s Damon and Amara’s younger sister.

  “What do you mean incriminating? Rose is as sweet as pie. What, she into some kinky shit or somethin’?” It’s hard for me to believe that Rose and incriminating were just used in the same sentence.

  Damon chuckles, “You sound as naïve as I did. Fuck, I thought the bastard photoshopped that shit until I called and spoke to her myself.”

  “What?” I ask,

  Amara whistles, bringing back my attention to her. “Rose is the leader of the Jackals, the vigilante gang. She’s…”

  “The Pharaoh,” I say it for her, in total and complete disbelief. The Pharaoh is the one determined to bring down Rafael Ramirez from power. Jesus. What in the fuck is going on.

  I have a feeling that I’m going to find out very soon.

  13

  Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

  -Anonymous

  Rebel

  “Okay, slow down. You’re talking so fast that I can’t even understand you, and that’s saying something coming from me. What do you mean you saw a ghost? Ghost’s aren’t real. They only exist in children’s stories and nightmares.” Nikolai tells me, staring at me from the other side of his kitchen island.

  As soon as Widow left, I drove straight here. I didn’t know where else to go to be honest. It just felt … right to come to Nikolai. I take in slow and deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. Nikolai saw me in my shocked state and immediately made me sit down while he made me some chamomile tea. “Drink,” He commands, and I do. I take a sip of the hot liquid and breathe in slowly, internally telling myself that everything will be okay, even if I don’t believe it right this second.

  “I have a past, Nikolai. One that I ran from, but of course you know that. You confronted me about my name change the other night … and now my past caught up to me – literally.” I mutter it out, running my hand over my face. This feels like some twisted, fucked up nightmare if I’ve ever had one.

  He furrows his brows together, walking around the island and places his palms against my cheeks. “What is it? You know you can share anything with me.” I listen to the way he demands me to tell him what’s happening, but yet how his tone manages to soothe me at the same time. He isn’t being some alpha mongrel right now. He’s being sincere, wanting to know what upset me so he can help. That, I believe deep down in my heart. I’ve been fighting feelings for Nikolai for such a long time, but right now … I feel something else entirely.

  “You know that I left my past. I’m sure you know a lot about me since you must’ve gotten a private investigator or some sort of information about me. I left Utah a while back. Well, I left when I was pregnant and came here. Today I went to an appointment and Zoe’s father was my date. He confronted me, Nikolai.”

  He moves his head slightly, and I know what he’s doing. He’s assessing the situation, waiting for me to tell him more. “He didn’t know about Zoe, or at least so I thought. Turns out, he knows about her. He’s known about her for … I don’t even know how long. He told me that we’ll be seeing each other soon to discuss custody. Not in those exact words, but more or less.”

  “Is he a bad man?” His question surprises me. I almost expected him to ask if he should go and break his legs. But maybe mercenaries don’t do that.

  “No, not a bad man. He was just a bad boyfriend.”

  He moves his hand down to my shoulder, gently caressing me. “Ah. So, he must have cheated.”

  “Bingo. 10 points for the hot Russian,” I mutter under my breath, looking away from him as soon as I realize my thoughts slipped out of my mouth.

  “Now I know you think I’m hot.” He smirks, running his thumb over the bottom of my chin.

  “I never told you that you aren’t. I’m just not going to stroke your ego as much as you’d like.” I inform him, offering a small half smile.

  “My ego will survive. Now, tell me what is really bothering you. I can tell it isn’t the fact that he’s just shown up here. There is more to you being this distraught. In the time we’ve spent together, never have I seen your tears. This man makes you cry and that is unsettling.”

  “Widow was the man that I thought I was going to marry. His childhood is much like mine, filled with grief and death. Then you add in disappointment on top of that. We bonded over our mutual experiences and became what we were. At the time, I thought we’d be together for a million years. Now, I look at him and see a stranger, a man that I barely recognize. My plan was to get up and escape the pain he was causing
my heart, but now he’s just shown up to do it yet again.”

  “From what you’ve told me he only has an interest in Zoe.”

  “Until he doesn’t anymore. Trust me, I know him better than he knows himself.”

  “You’re worried that he’ll break your heart again.” Nikolai vocalizes my fears, and as he does, he looks at me in a different light. “He can only do that if you let him close enough. Tell me, Rebel, do you want to be back in his bed?”

  I shoot up from my stool, “How can you ask me something like that? The man cheated on me with my best friend! He betrayed my trust in every single way that he could. He did things that he swore he wouldn’t!” The tears come flowing out yet again, years of anger and frustration seep out. I don’t know how I did it back then, but I was able to not get upset over his unfaithfulness. I held my shit together because I had my baby growing inside me and I couldn’t be upset. If I did …who knows what could have happened. There are so many possibilities, one of them being stressed enough that I could’ve had a miscarriage. I couldn’t bear the thought of that – or the thought of him at the time. So, I kept my mind busy and my body focused.

  Nikolai clenches his fists together and I watch the fury wash over his face. If I was doubting the fact Nikolai would ask me if I wanted him to break Widow’s kneecaps before, now I don’t. “You are a woman that deserves to be treasured, spoiled and appreciated in every form and fashion. He doesn’t realize what he did, losing the best thing that would ever come into his life.”

  I don’t think. Instead, I solely act, rushing over to him and kiss him like they do in the movies. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself into him, needing his lips to lock around mine. To feel the way he’s only been able to make my body react. With Nikolai, I feel alive and that’s something I have never felt before him. Nikolai makes me feel things in an entirely different light.